North Coast Assemblymember Jim Wood is again trying to ensure that more of government funds allocated to care for some of California’s most vulnerable residents are actually spent on patient care. Wood announced Feb. 27 that he had introduced Assembly Bill 1537, which would require that skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) spend a minimum of 85 […]
Skilled Nursing
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Nursing Homes Balk at New Staffing Rules
More than half of California’s nursing homes, including four in Humboldt County, are asking to be exempted from new state regulations that would require them to spend more time directly caring for their patients. The state’s new staffing requirements for nursing homes, quietly passed in last year’s budget bill, seem universally unpopular. Patient advocates say […]
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What we did, and didn’t, learn from the state’s audit of skilled nursing facilities
Brius Healthcare, LLC, did nothing illegal when its local skilled nursing facilities spent millions of dollars on related party transactions, according to a state auditor’s report on the practice that was released May 1. In 2015, Brius spent $65.7 million on services such as building leases, medical supplies and administrative services from companies also owned […]
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Off the Top
“We’re understaffed almost every single day. Sometimes we don’t have enough soap or towels,” said Maria Martinez at a recent hearing before California’s Joint Legislative Audit Committee. Martinez, a certified nursing assistant employed at a Marin County skilled nursing facility for 27 years, was describing a decline in care after the facility was bought by […]
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Judge Denies Skilled Nursing Defendants’ Change of Venue Bid
Judge Timothy Cissna denied skilled nursing magnate Shlomo Rechnitz’s request for a change of venue in a wrongful death and elder abuse lawsuit following a short hearing today, rejecting claims that he couldn’t get a fair trial in Humboldt County. Cissna said the case should be tried locally because it involves a substantial personal injury […]
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Blind, Sick, Alone
Local law firm Janssen Malloy, LLC, which recently filed two complaints alleginglleging patient neglect and abuse against local skilled nursing facilities, has added another case to its slate, accusing Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Center of dumping a dependent adult in a hotel room without proper medical care in October of 2016. The man, who was […]
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Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Center Fined $160,000 by State
Eureka Rehabilitation Center, one of the four skilled nursing facilities in Humboldt County owned by Brius Healthcare, was hit with eight fines yesterday at $20,000 each. The facility, which was visited by state inspectors in December, has been dogged by allegations of understaffing and improper patient care. It was one of three facilities slated for […]
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Jim Wood Introduces Bill to Strengthen Skilled Nursing Protections
North Coast Assemblymember Jim Wood’s announced today that he has introduced a bill to protect residents of skilled nursing facilities should a facility “have a change in license status or operation, such as closure.” The legislation comes in response to last year’s struggle to help patients in three local skilled nursing facilities owned by Brius […]
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UPDATED: Brius Rescinds Cancellation of Partnership Contract, Halts Closure of Two Skilled Nursing Facilities
UPDATE: Partnership Healthcare announced yesterday in a press release that Rockport had rescinded letters terminating its contract with the MediCal administrator, meaning that patients in the facilities, or entering the facilities via the hospital, will not have to have their coverage re-negotiated. “We are happy that a larger closure was avoided and that our fragile […]
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State Approves Closure of Three Skilled Nursing Facilities
The California Department of Public Health announced today that it has approved the closure of three skilled nursing facilities: Seaview, Pacific and Eureka Rehabilitation & Wellness Centers. According to Suzi Fregeau, long-term care ombudsman at the Area 1 Agency on Aging, this means as of tomorrow admittance of new patients to skilled nursing facilities will be […]
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Three Skilled Nursing Facilities May Close
Rockport Healthcare Services, the management company for five of Humboldt County’s six skilled nursing facilities, announced today that they have filed relocation notices for three sites: Pacific, Seaview, and Eureka Rehabilitation and Wellness Centers. The relocation notices, filed with the California Department of Public Health, are the first step in closing these facilities, which collectively contain […]
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Skilled Nursing Facilities Now Taking Patients
Lisa Ciccanti, spokesperson for St. Joseph Hospital, confirmed that local skilled nursing facilities have begun accepting patients from the hospital again. St. Joseph had previously been told by the facilities’ management company, Rockport, that they would not accept any of the hospital’s patients, forcing those who needed skilled nursing to go out of county. The […]